Nine Heavenly Dragons
by En Raconter
Summary: Tenten has decided that she can be just as powerful as her teammates, and when an unexpected problem comes up, she decides it is her responsibility to take care of it,or more specifically, him. Deidara & Tenten
1. Nine Heavenly Dragons

Nine Heavenly Dragons

In another time and place, Tenten had always watched her team. She watched them with pride and honor, admiring them. When she was tired, she would sit for awhile, gazing upon the other two going about with their solo practice. She smiled and enjoyed the secret pleasure that filled her heart every time she saw them. The pleasure created from being a team; being one.

It was now that Lee and herself were Chunin, and Neji was a Jounin. Skilled in all arts of hand to hand combat, Lee is known as the Taijutsu master of Konoha. Neji, having been said to be the most talented out of the Hyuuga clan, was of course an elite genius shinobi that was always going on the most dangerous S-class missions.

And yet, all of it seemed so...lacking. Tenten knew exactly why though. Back in her genin days, Team Gai was known for three members: Lee, the genius of hard work, Neji, the Hyuuga prodigy, and Gai-sensei, the hard working, disciplined teacher that led them all. Tenten, on the other hand, had just been known as the "girl on Team Gai", never to be regarded as what she really was: a genius weapon master in her own right. She used to hate it so much, and even now when she thinks about it, a childhood nostalgia of regrets always creeps into her mind.

Now that Team Gai wasn't really a team anymore, Tenten watches Lee and Neji, succeeding in everything they do. She is not jealous, but she just wishes she could be like them.

And now she's decided that she will.


	2. Chapter 1

1

The restaurant is filled with laughter and good spirits. The power of happiness is felt all around the room, and can even be seen on the faces of the people there. Gai and Lee are speaking happily together, and even Neji has a smile on his face. Tenten sips her tea slowly, just taking in all the positive energy around her. She laughs lightheartedly as she watches Gai and Lee converse about Lee's last mission, Gai nodding approvingly and happily at Lee's feats of greatness as he describes them. Neji rolls his eyes but he can't really seem to suppress that gleeful grin he's wearing.

After Lee finishes his speech, a soothing silence seems to drift over the four. Everyone seems so peaceful. Tenten thinks about everything that has happened. It all seems so worrying and dreadful, but right now, nothing can seem to knock the brightness out of them; because tonight, they feel like a team again.

Neji takes a sip of his tea and looks at Tenten. He speaks smoothly and calmly, in the tone Tenten never seems to get tired of.

"Tenten," Neji says to her, "Can I...ask you something?"

Turning to face him, she nods. Neji looks a little nervous, but still smiles warmly at her. He says, "Would you like to have a training session tomorrow?"

She cocks her head, looking at him oddly. She says, "But aren't you training with Hiashi-sama?"

He bites his lip a little and says, "Hiashi won't mind. Besides, training with you gives me a chance to go up against a different fighting style."

Lee's enthusiastic voice cuts in, "Yes! I will join you my friends! Gai-sensei has been teaching me new techniques that I would like to try out!"

Ordinarily, Neji would scoff, but he simply nods and looks at Tenten a little anxiously, waiting for her reply. Tenten looks at the both of them. She smiles at them and sets her tea cup down. After a few seconds her smile seems to have drifted away, and the warm expressions her teammates were sporting seem to have with hers.

"I'm sorry," she says, "I'm having a private training session tomorrow...just with myself."

Lee looks at her forlornly saying, "But Tenten! You have never turned down a training session before!"

Neji is frowning unhappily. He says, "Lee is right. Why do you wish to train alone, Tenten?"

Tenten nibbles on her lip a bit and says, "I need to practice a new technique I have been working on. It's very important...I've been working on it for a long time. You won't mind, will you?" She looks up at Gai-sensei with a small smile and eyes filled with a small bit of ruefulness. He looks a little sad, but grins at her face.

"Of course not my flower!" he booms, "Go on! Enjoy your youth! I'll be sure to drive Lee and Neji extra hard to make up for your absence! Why, it'll just be like our old genin days!"

Tenten smiles wider, and Lee seems to have gotten a little happier from Gai's talk. Neji on the other hand, is still looking at her rather disappointedly. She just smiles at him and gets up from the table.

"Please excuse me," she says, "I think I'll turn in. I have to wake up early tomorrow for my training. Dinner was wonderful, and I'm sure you all will be very well off tomorrow without me. Goodnight."

She waves at them cheerfully as she walks away. She doesn't notice the glum spirits that seem to overtake her team as she leaves.


	3. Chapter 2

She wakes up at the crack of dawn that day, not tired at all. She gets up from her bed and showers herself quickly, drying herself well. As she walks out of her bathroom she notices her regular outfit: A long-sleeved qipao and black pants that are cut a little below the knee. Her heeled shoes are side by side on the mat beside her closet. She smiles to herself knowing that she won't be wearing those things today.

As she throws the towel to the side, she slips on the black sports bra she usually wears. After that, she opens her bedside drawer and takes out a roll of bandages. Firmly and tightly, she wraps them around her chest. It may have felt a little uncomfortable, but it would help and support her during her training.

She opens her closet and takes the outfit that used to be her mother's, and puts it on. She looks at herself proudly in the mirror. The outfit she's wearing, is a traditional outfit worn by the women in her family, once they reach a certain age-and even then, they must be amazing shinobi. No, not just a shinobi, a kunoichi; a term Tenten uses with pride.

She gazes at it, and runs her fingers over the fabric. It's a black silk velvet Mandarin jacket with silk lining and fold-back cuffs. She feels the gold frog buttons that are fastened down the middle. Her pants are simple black trousers, comfortable and easy to move in. She steps away from the mirror and walks towards her shoe mat. Instead of taking her heeled clog-like shoes, she grabs a pair of golden-silk lined black slippers. She places them on her feet and walks around her room in them, noticing that they are much easier to move around in then her normal shoes.

At her vanity, she puts her hair up into her usual buns and picks up two pieces of white cloth. She places one on one of her buns and takes a ribbon and ties it on. She does the same with the other. She fingers the ribbons that dangled down. They had been a joint gift from Lee and Neji for her birthday (Gai-sensei had gotten her spandex), and she remembered how much she had loved them. They were beautiful.

Finally, Tenten walks over to her chair and picks up her most important item. It is a very large red scroll, embellished with gold lining and long snake-like dragons. She smiles to herself as she feels the scroll. It is the most powerful scroll used in her family. Only the best kunoichi can learn how to use it, and by the end of today, Tenten will know how too. She straps the beautiful object onto her back, along with her kunai pouch. She takes one last look in the mirror as she ties her headband around her forehead.

"I am a shinobi."


	4. Chapter 3

It is still a little dark when Tenten steps out of her house. It is a nice morning though, and very quiet too. She walks the near-vacant streets and looks around the village. Not many people have woken up yet. Many of the shops are closed. She walks until she is not near the buildings anymore. By the time she reaches the clearing that she calls her "private training ground" she is far from her house and close to the village gate.

She takes her large scroll off her back and sets it by a tree. She takes one deep breath, and begins her training. She starts with simple warm ups that aren't too intense. She doesn't use her weapons, for right now she is only practicing hand-to-hand combat. Her Taijutsu isn't as good as her ninjutsu, but the slow, graceful, flowing style she is practicing in will help loosen her muscles and get her ready for more vigorous training.

As she finishes up her beginning exercises, Tenten decides to practice her agility.

Doing several back flips and leaps, she practices maneuvering her scrolls. On one leap, she jumps particularly high, and lands back on the ground with only her hand holding herself up. Breathing in, she pushes herself as hard as she can back up, doing yet another flip in the air. After an hour of doing nothing but jumping and flipping, Tenten lands on the ground-on her feet this time-and decides to take a break.

She climbs up the tree that she had set her scroll by and sits on a branch, leaning against the trunk. She shuts her eyes and thinks about what she's going to do next. _ Probably some kunai throwing_, she thinks, _Then again, my bojutsu could use a little work too..._

She opens her eyes again and looks beyond the Konoha gate. A fog has settled in on the hills. Actually, what she thought was going to be a bright morning, had turned into quite a cloudy day. Tenten hoped it wouldn't rain. That would ruin her whole session.

As she mused over the horrible thought, she noticed two black figures emerging from the hills. They were a little far away, but they were close enough for her to see. As they walked closer Tenten tried to make out the little designs playing across their clothes. She squinted her eyes in scrutiny. What were they?

_Little red moons? _

_Little red suns? _

_No...little red clouds! _

Tenten gasps.

"Akatsuki!"


	5. Chapter 4

Her eyes widen at the sight. Without wasting anytime, she climbs back down the tree and straps on her scroll. After she climbs back up the tree she squats down on the branch getting ready for her next move.

Biting her lip she says, "I hope Tsunade-sama doesn't get angry at me for this."

And with that she leaps off the branch and right over the village gate. Running as fast as she can, Tenten sprints through the forest. If she could take care of them before they reached the village, it would be safe. Ordinarily, she would have gone for help but there was no time. She was already far away from the main part of the village as it was. Besides, she could take care of this.

As she leaps from branch to branch she jumps onto a very high limb and steadies herself. For a moment she is quiet. She holds her breath and waits. After a few seconds pass, she sees the two figures walking beneath her.

"Deidara-senpai," one of them says, "I thought Itachi-san and Kisame-san were to capture the jinchuuriki in Konoha."

_Deidara..._, Tenten thinks to herself, _I've fought him before! He tried to kidnap Gaara-sama!_

Deidara sighs, saying in an annoyed tone, "I already told you Tobi, yeah! Itachi and Kisame have been switched to another mission! We're covering for them while they're gone, yeah."

"Oh..." says the other one. His partner scoffs at him,

"Tobi, you better start being less of an idiot or else you'll never make it in the Akastuki, yeah."

"I'm not the idiot around here..."

The other stops in his tracks, giving his partner what Tenten assumes is a murderous glare. It seems like that would be his expression considering the one called Tobi nearly jumped three feet back squealing a high-pitched, "Yipe!"

Tobi holds up his hands in defense, crying, "Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean it!" Soon he's gone so far as covering his head in fear of Deidara smacking him. Deidara suddenly is calm.

"Tobi," he says, "I think it's time you got a lot more serious, yeah."

"I know! I know!" Tobi says.

"No," Deidara says, removing his hat and revealing his blonde hair and turquoise eyes. To Tenten's horror, he's staring directly at the tree she's perched on.

"We have a visitor, yeah."


	6. Chapter 5

Tenten's body freezes up for seconds. Deidara was staring right at her, with a seemingly sensual smile that made her feel _very_ uncomfortable. She licks her lips which seemed to have gotten very dry, and leaps down from the tree.

"State your business." she says very professionally. Deidara's smile seems to have turned into a smirk.

"I think you already know yeah, you little sneak."

Tenten narrows her eyes at him.

"Leave," she says, "_Now_."

"My," Deidara replies, "You're quite angry, yeah."

Tenten growls at him, taking out a kunai, "Fine, don't leave. I'll feel much better in killing you instead."

He raises an eyebrow and says, "How violent, yeah. A pretty girl like you shouldn't be talking about such things..."

Tenten was really about to explode. She was about to dart right at him when his partner interjects.

"Deidara-senpai!" Tobi says enthusiastically, "who's this? A friend of yours?"

Deidara growls at him, "You moron, yeah! She's the enemy!"

Tobi quirks his head to the side, "Well...you seem to know each other..."

Deidara turns his face back into a smirk. He says, "Oh, we've fought before...but don't worry, considering our _last_ battle, I don't think she'll be much of a threat, yeah. "

Now Tenten's temper was really rising. She tightens her grip around the kunai and bolts at Deidara.

"Tobi, protect your senpai, won't you yeah?" Deidara says to his partner. Tobi nods and jumps in front of Tenten. She puts her kunai in her mouth and bends forward, flipping herself up into the air and catching Tobi in a forceful kick. Tobi flies backwards, pushing Deidara with him. They crash into a tree behind them.

"You idiot, yeah!" Deidara barks angrily. He shoves Tobi (who seems to have been knocked unconscious)off of him and stands up, "I'll take care of you myself, yeah."

Taking her kunai out of her mouth, Tenten decides it's her turn to smirk,

"Bring it on."


	7. Chapter 6

Tenten is near to gasping as she sees Deidara produce a giant eagle from his hand. She would call it beautiful-if she weren't in a battle at the moment, that is. Tenten jumps into the air. Taking out a scroll, she bites her thumb and smears the blood on the unraveled paper.

She yells, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" An array of weapons such as kunai, katana, senbon, shuriken, and kama rain out of the spiral. Deidara, being a swift flyer, barely dodges them.

"Old tricks yeah?" he mocks at her. She scowls and runs forward, unraveling another scroll. She spins it in the air and hundreds of paper talismans fly out. They go in all directions, exploding on contact. They dart at a tree, and the kanji written on them flare, obliterating one of it's limbs.

"Paper bombs?" Deidara inquired, "that's new."

Tenten just smiled a little slyly as one of the talismans attaches itself to the right wing of Deidara's clay bird. It explodes, destroying the wing an knocking Deidara off balance. The bird swerves to the right, and Deidara jumps off just in time before it crashes.

"Too slow." says Tenten. Deidara scowls at her.

"Bombs huh?" he says, "well I can play that too!"

He throws several objects at her, each exploding as they hit the ground. She tries to jump out of the way, but wherever she lands, there are more bombs ready to meet her. One of them happens to be a smoke bomb, and as it explodes, her vision is obscured and she starts to cough violently.

Deidara of course, takes advantage of this. Grabbing his hat that had long been laying towards the side, he puts it on and runs into the smoke, identifying Tenten's slender body trapped inside. He smirks as he kicks her hard in the stomach, making blood shoot out from her mouth. She flies out of the smoke, smashing into a large trunk of a tree. She forces herself to open her eyes, although they still sting from the smoke. Unfortunately, Deidara is already in front of her.

He kneels down, taking off his hat. He puts it aside and picks up a fallen kunai. He inches closer to her, boring the same sensual look that he had gave her before.

"This is such a beautiful outfit," he says, "I'm sorry I got it so dirty, Tenten."

She glares at him angrily. She struggles under him, but freezes suddenly as he puts the kunai up to her neck.

"I'm really going to enjoy killing you." he says.


	8. Chapter 7

She shuts her eyes. She's breathing quickly, and after a few last breaths, she sucks in air and holds it. Her body is stiff under Deidara's. She wriggles her fingers slightly. He's smiling rather widely now. She holds back the dread that she's feeling for the slow death she thinks he's planning. She wriggles her fingers a little more.

_Just...a...little...closer..._

Tenten feels the cool metal of the kunai touch her flesh.

_I...I...got it!_

With the silver flash of a blade, the sound of metal piercing flesh is heard, and blood flies out of a body.

Deidara is blown backwards, holding his chest. His Akatsuki cloak is stained with red and blood is dripping out between his fingers. He's looking at her with a shocked expression.

"How..." he breathes.

She looks at him confidently, holding up the Jian; it's blade stained with red as well.

"This Jian was one of the weapons I had thrown when I was using my scrolls. Using a chakra string, I pulled my fallen weapon over to me. You were too distracted with the thought of killing me to notice." she says smartly. He growls at her.

"You...you little brat!" he yells. Enraged, Deidara sprints at her, with a kunai in hand. He slashes at her numerously, but each time she blocks it with her sword. With one mighty slash of her Jian, Tenten whips the kunai out of Deidara's hands, leaving him without a weapon.

"You're quite skilled, yeah." he says, putting his hand behind his back.

"Flattery won't do you any good." she says. Narrowing his eyes, Deidara says poisonously, "That _wasn't_ a compliment." As he finishes his remark, he quickly swings out his hand. Tenten puts her Jian up in defense, but is surprised to see little spiders flying towards her. She slices some of them in half, but she is not quick enough to get the following ones.

"Katsu!" Deidara yells. The spiders explode. Tenten's Jian is knocked out of her hands. Choking on the gunpowder, Tenten unknowingly gives Deidara an opening. He runs at her again. When she sees his form coming at her, Tenten forms an X with her arms as he lifts up his leg. As his foot shoots out, Tenten is kicked backwards, landing near Tobi's unconscious body. Her large scroll has been knocked off her back and she's getting more tired by the minute.


	9. Chapter 8

"Now if you'll excuse me my dear," Deidara says matter-of-factly, "I have a jinchuuriki to kidnap, yeah."

"He's not there." Tenten spits at him, "who you're looking for...he's not in Konoha. He's...attending to matters outside of the village."

Deidara walks over to her, placing his foot on her body.

"Don't lie." he says venomously. He stamps his foot on her stomach, making Tenten yell and release more blood from her mouth.

"I'm not!" she snarls at him. It was true, but she had an ulterior motive for saying it. If Deidara got into the village, he would find out Naruto was not there. He would do anything to find out where he is, and that anything would probably include killing villagers and causing mayhem in pursuit of information. She had to do something. Struggling upwards, Tenten pushes Deidara's foot off her stomach.

"It'll be a waste of time, going into that village. You'll only end up disappointing your leader, although he's probably already disappointed in you. Probably ashamed to even have someone like you in the Akatsuki." Tenten spits caustically.

Now Deidara's really mad. Kneeling down close to her, his arm shoots out, and he grabs her neck. He wraps his fingers around it.

"Why you little bitch!" he yells at her. She slowly takes her hand and grabs his arm. The tries to pull it off but he's too strong. Tenten's body has also been battered by Deidara's bombs, and the whole fight in general has drained her of most of her chakra...but if she could just scrounge up a little more...

With one forceful motion, she kicks Deidara off her. She stands back up and winces from the pain she's feeling. Ignoring it, she yells at Deidara.

"I bet you're the weakest of them all! I mean you only have one arm!" she says, "I bet your unconscious friend over there could've put up a better fight had I not kicked him!"

Tenten points at Tobi's body as she says this. Her words may have not made sense, but they had succeeded in getting Deidara even more angry, which was all that mattered.

"Damn you, yeah!" Deidara yells at her, "I'll kill you!"

"You can't kill me if you can't catch me, weakling!" says Tenten. She picks up her fallen scroll and runs through the forest, away from the village. She hears Deidara follow her. When she doesn't hear him behind her anymore, Tenten glances back and sees he has produced another eagle from his hand. She curses and runs faster. She's about to collapse but she pushes herself. She reaches the end of the forest and runs into the clearing. She turns around and sees Deidara coming. She quickly undoes her scroll, revealing three small wrapped tubular figures resembling fireworks.

Spinning the scroll around her, she bites her thumb and sacrifices a larger amount of blood then usual. As the figures align triangularly in front of her, she sees Deidara is approaching her rapidly. Closing her eyes she yells,

"Kyuuamatsuryuu!"

Nine flares shoot up from the tubes, three from each one. The shoot up through the spiraling scrolls and explode in the air. In the sky, the figures of nine majestic dragons emerge from the explosions. They slither downwards, engulfing the paper of the scrolls with their body and spiraling around Tenten. They are all different colors, and would be a beautiful sight, if they were not about to totally obliterate everything around them.

Deidara's mouth is hanging wide open as he sees the dragons. He freezes, clueless of what to do or where to go. When he finally decides he should retreat, it is too late. The dragons have formed a rapid-spinning vortex around Tenten, and her body is not visible anymore. She is in an absolute defense, much like her teammate Hyuuga Neji's Kaiton.

The fiery vortex starts to emit weapons, but they are not like before. Her weapons are going at a much faster speed then when she uses her regular scrolls. They have become almost impossible to dodge or block. Also, not only weapons are being thrown out, flares and bombs are being as well.

Deidara feels several kunai, shuriken, and senbon pierce his flesh. He doesn't know what to do as he undergoes the rain of weapons. Tenten is loosing chakra fast, but if she could finish him off, it would be worth it. Deidara tries to block the weapons, but he is rendered unconscious as he feels something hard hit his head.

Tenten finishes off her attack. The long scrolls fall to the ground beside her. She has used too much chakra. She realizes now that she may have not been completely ready to use the Kyuuamatsuryuu. Her mind begins to spin and she feels herself going faint...


	10. Chapter 9

Tenten wakes up in a white room. She tries to get up from what she assumes is a bed, but it is not long before a sharp pain shoots through her body. She falls back down on the soft mattress, her body limp. Looking around disoriented, she meets the eyes of two familiar faces.

"Neji? Lee?" she says looking at her green clad and white eyed teammates.

"You're finally awake." says Neji coolly.

"Tenten! The beautiful flower of our team! I am so glad you're alive!" exclaims Lee robustly, tears falling down his face.

"Tsunade-sama said she would be all right Lee." says Neji rolling his eyes.

"Yes, but I was still very worried!" replies Lee.

Tenten looks around the hospital room and says, "Where is he? Deidara?"

Neji narrows his eyes at her and says, "Tsunade-sama took him, but that's not important. Tenten, are you completely insane? How could you have done something so stupid?"

Tenten turns to him, an inquiring look on her face.

"What do you mean?" she asks.

Neji sighs angrily, "I'm talking about-"

"Save your breath, Neji," a low feminine voice interrupts, "I think I should handle this."

The three ninja in the room turn to the door to see their Hokage standing in it. Hands on her hips, she approaches Tenten.

"I'd like to speak to her alone, if you don't mind." she says without looking at Neji or Lee.

The slightest bit of annoyance is visible on Neji's face, but he just nods and leaves. Lee looks sympathetically at Tenten, and follows his teammate out of the room. Once they have left, Tsunade glares at Tenten sternly. Tenten looks away in reproach.

"Look at me, Tenten." says Tsunade firmly. Tenten obeys.

Tsunade sighs as she meets Tenten's brown eyes, and walks over to the window. Gazing out, she begins to speak.

"Leaving the village without permission, confronting members of an elite criminal organization without certified back-up, fighting an S-class criminal on your own, Tenten, what were you thinking?"

Tenten looks down at the white of the hospital sheets.

She says in a very small voice, "There was no time...I couldn't-I thought I could handle it."

Tsundade turns back around, staring at her through narrowed eyes.

"You thought you could handle it? _You thought you could handle it? _You were completely reckless in your actions and could have been killed!" Tsunade yells at her.

Tenten simply nods.

"And now, now that you're in the state that you're in, I have only _one_ thing to say to you, Tenten!"

Tenten looks at Tsunade, bracing herself for the worst.

"Y-yes Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade sighs, "Thank you."


	11. Chapter 10

Tenten stares at Tsunade for seconds, mouth agape. She doesn't know what to say. _Thank you?_ Tenten thinks, _That's what she has to say?_

"But...why?" asks Tenten curiously. Tsunade returns to the window, continuing her gazing.

"You may have acted like a thoughtless idiot, but because of that we now have two Akatsuki members in custody. Plus, if you hadn't held them off, our village might've been in serious danger. So Tenten, in a nutshell, I am praising your stupidity."

Tenten looks dumbly at Tsunade. A little confusedly she says, "Oh...well you're welcome...I think."

Tsunade nods. She says, "Once they are all healed up, we will take them into interrogation. We'll give em' to Ibiki. That oughta break them."

Tenten smiles on impulse. She wonders how long Tobi will last with Ibiki. Thinking about Tobi, she asks Tsunade,

"The other one, Tobi is his name. The one with the mask. I only knocked him unconscious, he shouldn't be that badly hurt."

Tsunade shook her head and said, "The debris from your attack hit him. Those weapons really got some distance, enough to destroy almost half our forest. He was near death when the village shinobi found him. He should be all right though. Deidara on the other hand is severely injured. You really beat him up good, Tenten."

Tenten smiles wider. "Thanks." she says to Tsunade.

"What makes you think that was a compliment?" Tsunade says with a cheeky smile, "I'll see you later. You should be fine now, you're free to leave whenever you like." She winks at Tenten on the way out. Finally alone, Tenten finds time to think. Her conversation with Tsunade has upped her spirits, and the pain she felt before seemed to have went away.

She wonders about her teammates. What were Lee and Neji thinking? Had she been brave? Or had she been plain stupid? It didn't really matter at the time though. She had completed her job, her mission. She had saved her village, and the people she held dear-and that was what really mattered.


	12. Chapter 11

Tenten gets off the bed. She walks over to the chair in front of her and sees her mother's outfit lying there. She looks down at her body and slaps her head when she sees she's wearing a hospital dress. Of course they had taken the other outfit off of her.

She picks up the mandarin jacket. It was ripped in several places, and had been badly thrashed by Deidara's bombs. It would still survive though, Tenten would be sure to take it to the tailor's as soon as possible.

Tenten puts a hand up to her buns. Feeling the dangling ribbon, Tenten smiles as she notes her hair accessories had not been taken off. She looks beside her jacket and sees folded clothes laying next to it. She picks up the shirt. It's her usual long-sleeved qipao, but it's red, with gold silk embroidery. Her usual black, below-knee cut pants are underneath it.

Neji and Lee must have left the clothes there, so she could change into them. _Neji must have picked out the shirt_, thought Tenten, _I remember telling him it was my favorite once._ After changing into her new clothes, Tenten picks up her other outfit and walks out of the hospital room.

Walking down the hallways, Tenten sees Sakura and Shizune conversing about something. She walks up to them.

"Tenten! You're awake!" says Sakura enthusiastically, "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," says Tenten smiling.

"I bet Tsunade-sama gave you a lecture," says Shizune. Then she whispers, "But don't mind it, I think you were amazing, going after that Akatsuki member like that!"

Sakura nods and says, "Not just one, two of them!"

Tenten laughs, "Thank you, although I don't think it was that big of a deal."

"Don't be so modest! You saved our village. Plus you totally kicked blondie's ass!" says Sakura, making punching motions with her hands.

Tenten just laughs again. Then she says in a more sober tone, "If I may ask, where is he? Deidara, I mean."

"Deidara? Oh you mean the Akatsuki member. He's in room 204, why?" asks Shizune.

"I'd just like to see him..." says Tenten, "I just want to see how he is."

"Why do you care?" asks Sakura with a grin on her face. Tenten just looks away and says,

"I just want to see how badly I beat him is all..."

"Oh...okay," says Sakura, "follow me." She exchanges an expression with Shizune that Tenten doesn't see. Sakura has already turned around. Tenten follows as Sakura walks off. They walk down the hallways, left and right, until they reach room 204.

"Here is it is," says Sakura, "there are ANBU guarding him at the moment. I'm sure they'll leave if you ask them. Deidara is in a bad state right now. He won't be much of a threat."

Tenten nods and Sakura leaves. She turns the knob of the door and opens it, walking inside. She sees four ANBU guarding him.

"May I see him privately?" asks Tenten politely. One of the ANBU hesitates, but then nods.

"We'll be outside the door if you need us, Tenten-san." he says as they leave. Once she is alone, she looks at the unconscious blonde-haired man on the hospital bed in front of her. She looks curiously at him. She walks up to him and examines him. His chest is wrapped in bandages that look like they have been recently changed. Bending down closer, Tenten doesn't understand the kind of curiousity is feeling as she looks at his face. She's about to draw back when something grips her hand. She gasps as she sees his eyes fly open.


	13. Chapter 12

"A little curious, yeah?" asks Deidara in a faint whisper.

Tenten freezes. After a few seconds she quickly draws back. Deidara's hand falls limply to the side after she pulls her arm away.

"What's the matter, Tenten?" asks Deidara, "you seem a little uneasy, yeah. I didn't scare you, did I?"

Tenten shakes her head and mumbles, "Yeah you wish."

Deidara only replies with a small laugh. He then asks, "So why did you come here anyway?"

"I just wanted to see how you were." replies Tenten.

Deidara raises his eyebrow and says, "I see. Fraternizing with the enemy, yeah?"

"Oh please," says Tenten, "I just wanted to see how badly I beat you up. I've never used that technique before and I was just wondering what the results of it would be. Not that you would care."

"Oh on the contrary," says Deidara, "I'm _very_ interested in your jutsu, yeah."

Tenten raises her eyebrow and says, "Really?"

"Really," Deidara replies, "it may have been very destructive, but it was also very artistic. Just how I like it, yeah. It was a beautiful thing to behold, yet it was over in a short time. It was fleeting...true art, yeah."

Tenten looks to the side and says awkwardly, "Uh...thanks...your birds were very pretty too..."

_What am I thinking!_ Tenten thinks, _I just gave the enemy a compliment! I really am losing it!_

"Pretty, yeah?" inquired Deidara, "I just said all that about your jutsu and all I get is a 'pretty'?"

"Look, I shouldn't even be talking to you like this, okay?" Tenten says hastily, "it's not like we're friends or anything..."

Deidara just smiles at her.

"Oh, of course not, yeah," he says, "but that doesn't mean we can't have a casual conversation, yeah. Please, tell me more about your jutsu."

Tenten pauses for a minute. What was it about this man that made him so charming? It really was starting to annoy her. She should just stop right now and leave, but as she looks into Deidara's playful blue eyes, she finds herself trying to resist the alluring urge to explain her Kyuuamatsuryuu-and failing.


	14. Chapter 13

Before I start this chapter I would just like to say that thought I don't own Naruto or Tenten, I own the move "Kyuuamatsuryuu"

I created it for the story, and it is my property.

Wow I sound really mean...sorry to dampen the mood, Enjoy the story!

"Kyuuamatsuryuu means 'Nine Heavenly Dragons'. There are nine classical types of dragons depicted in Chinese art and literature, nine being an auspicious number in Chinese culture. These are:

Tianlong, the Celestial Dragon

Shenlong, the Spiritual Dragon

Fucanglong, the Dragon of Hidden Treasures

Dilong, the Underground Dragon

Yinglong, the Winged Dragon

Jiaolong, the Horned Dragon

Panlong, the Coiling Dragon

Huanglong, the Yellow Dragon, who emerged from the River Luo to show Fu Xi the elements of writing

and finally, Dragon King."

Deidara looks at Tenten and says, "Wow, that's amazing. There is so much culture connected to your jutsu, yeah-and you remember it all. I'm very impressed."

Tenten doesn't know why, but she blushes. Avoiding being noticed, she goes on about her jutsu,

"It's not that special...the Kyuuamatsuryuu is a technique used by the women in my family. I'm supposed to know all that stuff."

"Well, I still think it's great, yeah." says Deidara. A very pregnant silence fell over the two. Getting uneasy from the quietness, Tenten decides to speak.

"Well, I've told you about my jutsu. Why don't you tell me about yours?"

"There isn't much to tell..." says Deidara, "why do you want to know anyway? Are you trying to extract information from me, yeah?"

She absolutely hates the way he smiles at her. It's the same sensual look that he always seems to give her.

"I'm just asking..." mumbles Tenten.

Deidara looks at her through half-lidded eyes, and says, "I know, I know, please excuse my rudeness, yeah. Come, sit here."

He motions to the chair near his bed. She stares at him for a few seconds, hesitating.

"What's wrong Tenten? Are you afra-"

"No I'm not afraid!" she snaps at him, "I mean...I just don't want to get too close to the enemy..."

"So by that you mean you're afraid, yeah?"

"Ugh, no! Here, I'll show you!" with that Tenten walked over the chair and sat down, saying, "There! See?"

"Oh, so daring..." says Deidara sarcastically.

Tenten growls, "You're so annoying!"

Deidara just grins happily and says,

"It's only to see you get angry, yeah. Tenten-chan."

Tenten pauses at the use of her name with that suffix.

_Tenten-**chan**!_ she thinks, _Why'd he call me that? Is he...? Could he be...? **Flirting!** No, no of course not...but what if..._

"Ano, Tenten," says Deidara, "Are you all right?"

She looks at him sternly and says, "Yes. Yes, I'm fine. I was...just about to leave!"

He looks at her oddly and says, "What? I thought you wanted to hear more about my jutsu, yeah."

She gets up from the chair and replies, "You said it yourself that there's not much to tell. If that's the case then there's no point in me staying here."

He looks at her and almost pouts. She just looks away. What was she thinking in the first place? She has no place here. She's in the same room with the enemy and they're having conversations! There's no bit of hostility, no violence-something is definitely wrong.

Tenten starts to walk away from him when he says,

"Did I...do something wrong, yeah?" He says it almost apologetically. She cringes.

_No way, no way!_ she thinks, _Just leave, just leave Tenten!_

Then in her coldest, most serious, indifferent tone, she says, "ANBU will handle you from now on. Goodbye."

With that she walks out, leaving a very crestfallen looking Deidara behind her.


	15. Chapter 14

Sorry for the short chaps, but I can get updates out faster that way. Plus it makes the story get along faster...that didn't make sense...but you'll have to trust me.

She bites her tongue as she feels the slightest tinge of regret crawl into her mind. What was it about him...what was it that made her feel...different. From the first time he smiled at her she had constantly been on edge, and it wasn't just because he was in the Akatsuki. Something about his lascivious grin, the way he mocks her one minute, and calls her pretty the next, is annoying her to no end. And yet...she can't get him out of her head.

"He's two-faced, that's what he is," Tenten says aloud.

She scowls as she remembers his words as he held a kunai up to her neck:

_"I'm really going to enjoy killing you_._"_

It was obvious right? He cared about his mission just as she had cared about hers. There was nothing in-between. He was just attempting to be a little seductive to throw her off guard. That's all it was.

"Who's two-faced?" comes a voice from behind Tenten. She turns around to see none other than the pink-haired medic, Haruno Sakura. She was smiling a cheeky grin, that seemed to be a little contagious.

"Oh...no one." replies Tenten.

"I see...so...you decided to just randomly call someone two-faced out of the blue...?" asks Sakura.

Tenten rolls her eyes and says, "I just...I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

Sakura just nods and says, "Okay, but maybe you'll be more talkative over dinner? Whaddya say? I'm buying..."

"No thanks, Sakura," Tenten says apologetically, "maybe another time."

"Are you sure?" she asks.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Tenten smiles at Sakura and walks away. She exits the hospital and starts to walk home. She sees the daylight has start to dim, and dusk will eventually follow. Tenten sighs as she walks the streets of the village. She clutches her mother's outfit close to her as she walks. She makes note of the tailor's shop as she passes by it.

Finally she gets to her house, and opens the door, relieved to finally be home. As she lays her mother's outfit on the couch she quickly goes to her room.

_Man I'm tired..._ Tenten thinks, _What a day!_

It had been quite a day. She had gotten some training in, and then fought two S-class criminals...although she didn't think Tobi was really one. He was sort of cute though, the way he was so naive and clueless; like a little child. Tenten wonders how he even made it in to the Akatsuki. She wonder's what's behind that mask of his. For someone so weak, he was sure mysterious--but right now Tenten didn't really care for mysteries. Right now she didn't even want to try to figure anything out or think about anything at all.

First of all, she was dead tired, and second, her mind had already been swirling around with confusion on Deidara. Tenten shakes her head as the thought of him comes into her mind. She really didn't need that right now.

Clumsily, she changes into her pajamas. Even though it's not very dark out, she collapses onto her bed. She is grateful that a tidal wave of sleep soon washes over her.


	16. Chapter 15

The next morning, Tenten gets a visit.

"Hello?" she says groggily, opening her front door.

There, clad in a bright green jumpsuit, was none other than her sensei, Gai.

"G-Gai-sensei?" she inquires, squinting her eyes at the morning sun.

"Ah, the beautiful flower of our team! Have you just woken up? One should not be rising so lately on a wonderful day like this! That would be wasting your youth!"

"Yeah, yeah, youth and beauty, whaddya want?" asks Tenten irritably.

"Tsunade-sama wants to see you this morning!"

"...At three a.m?"

"She must be an early riser, like me!"

"All right, let me just get dress-"

"No, Tsunade-sama said it was urgent! Come, I'll escort you!" Gai grabs Tenten's arm and drags her out the door, running straight to the Hokage building.

Once they make it to their destination, Tenten is looking even more unruly then when she had woken up. Tsunade-sama was tapping her foot, looking sternly at her and Gai.

"What took you so long?" she asks.

"Sorry, Hokage-sama, Tenten was not in all her youth, this morning!"

"Uh...right," says Tsunade, "Listen, Tenten. Deidara has just taken out three of the four ANBU that were guarding him. Tobi seems to have broken out of his hospital room as well. I had to go down there and personally take care of them myself. We've got them locked up in our strongest cell. I sealed their chakra up and everything, but it of course can't last forever."

"So how does this concern me?" asks Tenten curiously.

"We need someone who knows their abilities well enough to guard them without problems, and that someone is you."

"What!" asks Tenten, shocked, "I can't do that!"

"You can and you will. Look, I'm too busy and right now I can't deal with this. Besides, I know you can handle them."

"But Tsunade-sama..."

"That's an _order_."

Tenten bows her head and says, "Yes, Tsunade-sama."

"I'll give you one hour to go home and get dressed. After that, report back here and I'll take you to them."

Tenten nods and turns to the door.

"My beautiful flower!" booms Gai, "let me escort you back-"

"No thank you, Gai-sensei," says Tenten cutting in, "I think I'll be fine on my own."

She exits the building and walks home, getting a few odd looks from other villagers. She was still in her pajamas after all.

At home she skips breakfast and showers. After wrapping herself in a white towel, Tenten steps out of her bathroom. As she walks to her closet, she notices a backpack sitting on her chair next to her ninja bag that's shaped like a smiling panda head. She smiles when she sees it; that was the backpack her mom had given her for her 6th birthday...

She opens her closet and studies her clothing options.

_I'll wear something nice,_ she thinks, _Wait, what? I don't need to wear something nice! I'm on official ninja duties!_

She shuts her closet door and walks over to her bed. Her outfit from yesterday was laying on the sheets. She picks it up and dresses herself quickly. Putting her hair into buns she decides to wrap the cloth from the other day on them. Fastening them onto her buns with a black string, she looks at her clock.

4:05 a.m

_Oh no!_ she thinks, _If I don't hurry up I'll be late!_

She runs out the door, picking up her backpack on the way out.

After she is a good one or two blocks away from her house, Tenten takes notice of the bag that she picked up...

"Oh no." she says aloud. Looking down at her bag, she sees it in the shape of a smiling panda head...


	17. Chapter 16

_Shoot!_ Tenten thinks, _I picked up the wrong bag! _

She shuffles through her panda bag. Digging through it, she finds the following contents:

-Ribbons

-Nail polish

-a sheet of stickers

-and a tiger plushie

Those were definitely not your standard ninja tools...

Tenten sighs and slips the backpack onto her back. It was too late to go back now. She slouches down as she walks the streets. After a few seconds, her stomach growls. She remembers that she had not eaten breakfast. Looking around, she spots her favorite Chinese restaurant. Smiling, she quickly walks in and gets some take out. She decides she'll eat it on guard duty.

She enters the Hokage building only to find a very disgruntled Tsunade.

"S-sorry I was late Tsunade-sama..." she mutters.

"Yes, yes," Tsunade says hastily, "let's just go. I need you on duty as soon as possible. What is that you're holding, Tenten?"

"Uh...take out?" she says sheepishly, "Well you see I didn't have any breakfast..."

"Oh fine, you can eat it on the job. Come on."

Tsunade leads Tenten out of the room and to the prison. On the way she explains what Tenten will be doing, but Tenten isn't really listening. She's far too hungry...

Once they reach the jail cell, Tenten sees Deidara's sorrowful face behind the bars. She doesn't spot Tobi though; he must be in another room.

"Well, this is where I take my leave," Tsunade says finally, "you gonna be all right, Tenten?"

Tenten nods.

"Good, I wouldn't know what to say if you said no." Tsunade leaves Tenten after that comment. After she leaves, an uncomfortable silence seems to drift over the room. Tenten uneasily sits down on the stool next to the prison cell, eyeing Deidara inside.

"Hey Buns," he drawls out, "you watching over me, yeah?"

_Buns!_ Tenten thinks angrily, _Since when does he call me "Buns"!_

"Yeah, I guess so." she replies, frowning. Deidara pouts. She scowls.

"You don't seem very happy about it, yeah," he says, "don't you like seeing my devilishly handsome face all the time?"

"Please," Tenten says, rolling her eyes, "you're really full of yourself, you know?"

"Why thank you, yeah." he says smiling cheekily. Tenten sighs and takes out her food, licking her lips as she does so. Unwrapping the white cloth she reveals a bamboo basket filled with soup dumplings.

_Xiaolongbao,_ she thinks, _My favorite!_

She smiles as she picks one up and is about to pop it into her mouth when she sees fingers sticking out between the bars. Looking at the quivering lip of who the fingers belonged to, Tenten scowls.

Deidara smiles and says, "Can I have some, yeah?"


	18. Chapter 17

Tenten stares at him and says, "What?"

"Can I have some?" he repeats, "I haven't eaten anything all morning."

"I'm not certified to feed you." she says simply.

"Pleeeeeeease, yeah? It smells so good!"

She frowns. Looking at his face Tenten feels a little pity for the man; he was acting so childish—the endearing kind of childish. She then starts to remember his many other "moods".

_Oh, he's not two-faced, _thought Tenten, _It's more like ten-faced! _

What was she supposed to do? She couldn't let him starve. Even if he was the enemy, it would just be plain cruel to eat in front of him. She looks guiltily down at the dumpling she's holding in her hand. She looks back at his pouting face, and then she frowns.

"Oh...all right," she sighs, "but don't tell anyone!"

He nods cheerily at her and says, "Thanks yeah!" He sticks his fingers between the bars, and she pushes the dumpling up against them. He draws his hand back.

"Ouch," he says, "it's sort of hot. Feed me, yeah?"

"How 'bout I feed you a fist?" Tenten retorts.

"No need to get violent..." says Deidara with a frown. He puts his fingers back up to the bars, and after a little struggle he manages to get the small food item through. He pops the slightly squished dumpling into his mouth and chews slowly.

"Mm," he says, "this is good, yeah. What is it?"

"Xiaolongbao," Tenten says, "soup dumplings."

"Hmm...I think it's become my favorite food."

Tenten can't help it, but she smiles. His positive reaction towards the food seemed to have put her in a slightly better mood. She finally eats one herself, and smiles even wider as she takes in the taste. A silence settles over the two. Tenten tries to ignore Deidara eyeing her from behind the bars. After a few minutes, Tenten finds herself bored. She rests her elbows on her thighs, and her head on her hands. Looking around, she spots her panda backpack by her stool. She glances at Deidara out of the corner of her eye, and is relieved to see his eyes are closed, and he's leaning his head against the wall.

She picks up the backpack and unzips it. Shuffling through it, she pulls out the nail polish and the sheet of stickers.

"The things boredom does to a girl..." she mumbles to herself.

She unscrews the top to the bottle of nail polish. It's a rose color. Ino had always said that it went well with her skin tone. She paints her nails carefully and thoughtfully, careful not to drip any on her skin. After she does so, she puts the cap back on and picks up her sticker sheet. She grins as she sees the little panda-face shaped stickers.

The nail polish dries in a couple of minutes, and after that, Tenten starts to put a sticker on each of her nails. After she finishes her nails off with putting one more sticker on her left pinky, she holds her hands out and looks at them, satisfied with herself.

Feeling accomplished, Tenten glances back into the jail cell. Her gaze is met with clear blue eyes.

"Hey buns," Deidara says, "Nice nails, yeah."


	19. Chapter 18

She feels herself go red under his gaze.

"H-how long have you been watching me?" asks Tenten.

"I've been watching ever since you took out that cwute wittle panda baggie of yours, yeah." he replied teasingly.

"I...I accidentally picked it up on my way out...there was no time to go back-"

"Save it, yeah," he says, "personally I never pegged you as the girly type."

"I got this stuff when I was like 6, plus I was bored."

"Sure Buns, sure..."

"Stop calling me that!" Tenten says angrily (and eager to change the subject).

"Calling you what?" asks Deidara innocently.

"_Buns_, stop calling me _Buns!_"

"Oh, but it's such an adorable name for you, yeah!" says Deidara gleefully.

"It's annoying!" says Tenten, "Plus it's so unoriginal...for once can someone come up with a nickname for me that _doesn't_ have to do with my hairstyle?"

Deidara shoots Tenten a dirty smile, "What makes you think I was talking about your _hair_, yeah?"

Tenten suddenly has the urge to punch him square in the mouth. She also has the urge to cover her face with her panda bag to hide her blushing face.

"You're lucky you're behind those bars," she growls, "or you'd be dead."

"Idle threats, _Buns_, idle threats," says Deidara, "now do me, yeah."

Tenten perks up. _What did he just say!_ she thinks.

"W-what?" stutters Tenten.

"Do me. Look I've been real nice to you, yeah. It's the least you can do." he says.

"Stop messing around, Deidara!" she says, even more flushed than before.

"What are you talking about, yeah?" he says with a confused look on his face.

"What you just said, you're joking, right?" she asks nervously.

"Uh, no yeah. Come on, it'll be fun!"

"You are so sick!" Tenten yells at him, "What is _wrong_ with you!"

"All I want is for you to do-"

"Eww! Don't say it again!" she says, covering her ears.

"Are you on some special medication, yeah?" he asks.

Tenten ignores the comment and says, "I knew you were a criminal, but I never thought you were this much of a sicko! I mean, to just _ask_ it out of the blue! I expect to be treated with respect! I'm a kunoichi damnit! What do you think I am? Some kind of prosti-"

"Tenten!" Deidara yells at her, "All I want is for you to do my _nails!_"

Tenten stops. After a few moments, her face is fully flushed--but this time it's from embarrassment.

"Oh." she whispers. Deidara looks at her oddly, and after a few seconds it finally registers in his mind.

He smiles and says, "And you think _I'm_ a sicko, yeah?"


	20. Chapter 19

"I...I thought you meant..." says Tenten.

"Oh, I know what you meant..." says Deidara playfully. At this point Tenten's face is completely red. She's so embarrassed she wants to run right out of the room. She tries to stay calm though, but it's sort of hard to when the person in front of you is staring at you like you're some kind of pervert.

"You look like a tomato yeah," says Deidara smiling, "Come now, it's not that big of a deal...I just never thought you'd be so lewd in your thinking..."

"It was a common mistake!" says Tenten desperately.

"Oh sure buns..." says Deidara, still wearing his smile. It was driving Tenten absolutely mad.

"Well what about you and your nickname? You can't say that's not lewd!" she says, "you're just as bad!"

"Well, I'm a guy yeah. It's understandable if I think it, but for you..."

"That's a sexist comment!" says Tenten angrily.

"So you're saying that I _should _say you're perverted, yeah?" he asks smartly.

"No I--What I meant to say was--you don't understand that I--"

"Shh, yeah," says Deidara, "I don't want you to burst a blood vessel or something..."

"Just shut up!" yells Tenten, "You know, I should've never talked to you in the first place! I'm only here to watch over you, not to play around!"

"Well, you're not very good at your job, are you yeah?"

"Ugh! You're so irritating! I don't even understand why you insist on talking to me so much!"

"If you don't know, then you're pretty darn stupid yeah."

Tenten stands up from her stool, fists clenched.

"What are you going to do, yeah?" asks Deidara mockingly, "Break the bars?"

"I'm going to break something--"

"Tenten!" A woman's voice interrupts. Tenten swerves around to see Tsunade in the doorway.

"What on earth are you doing?" she asks, arms crossed, foot tapping.

"I-I-"

"It looks to me like this job is a little more than you can handle."

Tenten freezes. The last thing she wants to do is disgrace herself in front of her idol. If she let down Tsunade-sama, then she'd never forgive herself.

"No, Tsunade-sama," says Tenten apologetically, "I just...lost it for a minute..."

"Well I can't afford to have hotheaded shinobi on the job right now. Look, why don't you go get some fresh air and come back in a few minutes. I'll watch over Deidara for the time being."

"But Tsunade-sama-"

"_Go_." Tsunade's firm, commanding voice is all Tenten need's to get out of the room as fast as she can. Once out of the cramped prison, Tenten feels relieved as she takes in breaths of cool, refreshing air outside.

She thinks about the situation that just happened. She had gotten angry because Deidara had called her stupid. Why had he done that?

_Oh yeah,_ Tenten thought,_ I told him I didn't understand why he talked to me all the time_.

Remembering Deidara's answer, Tenten repeats it several times in her head.

_"If you don't know, then you're pretty darn stupid yeah."_


	21. Chapter 20

So I was feeling guilty that I haven't updated in awhile...sorry! Thanks to all the peeps that reviewed, you rock! This chappie is sort of short though...

_I'm stupid?_ Tenten thinks, _He started it, he's stupid!_

It was true though. Why couldn't he be like any other criminal and just shut up once he's captured? Why is he so bold, so annoying...so...charming...

_I'm really losing it now,_ Tenten thinks worriedly, _Well, I guess I have to go back in now..._

Tenten sighs as she walks back into the cold stuffy jail cell. She glances at Tsunade and immediately turns her head. Tsunade looks irritable...like she had been waiting for a long time.

_I wasn't that long, _Thinks Tenten, _Was I?_

"'Bout time you got back," says Tsunade frowning, "now don't screw up. I don't want to have this problem again, Tenten."

Tenten bows and says, "Yes Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade storms out (yes she _storms _out, that's how stressed she is). Tenten makes a mental note not to _ever_ get on that woman's bad side. Looking thoughtfully at the prison cell, Tenten takes her seat back on the stool. She promises herself she won't get distracted by Deidara's petty insults. After all, she's _so_ above that...

"Hey yeah," Deidara drawls out with a smirk, "sorry I got you in trouble, _Buns_."

"Just be quiet," Tenten says sternly, "I'm not talking to you anymore, so you might as well get used to the silence."

"Aw, that's mean, yeah!" whines Deidara, "What did I ever do to you anyway?"

Tenten looks infuriated for a second, but regains her soberness.

"You get all red when you're angry, you know that yeah?" says Deidara.

"Oh really?" mocks Tenten, "I just thought my face was _naturally_ red."

_Oh yeah, _thinks Tenten smiling in her mind, _That **stung...**_

"You did? Wow you're dumb, yeah." retorts Deidara not even looking at her.

_Damnit!_ thinks Tenten again, _Why does he have to mess up my good moments with his...his...messing-up...ness!_

The next few minutes go by slowly. Tenten thinks about getting out her nail polish again, but thinking of last time, she quickly changes her mind. She hears the ticking of the clock. _Tick, tock...tick, tock..._It was getting pretty annoying. Tenten glances at the clock face to see what time it is.

**4:55 a.m**

_Wow,_ Tenten thinks, _I forgot that it was this early..._

Looking back at Deidara, Tenten sees him boredly playing with the long tuft of blonde hair hanging over his eye.

And all of the insults he had said, and sneers he had given, couldn't match the irk of how she was suddenly disturbed that she found him so handsome.


	22. Chapter 21

"When's Ibiki going to come and interrogate you anyway?" asks Tenten snappishly, making her question come out a little meaner than she meant it to. She tries to combat the blush away from her cheeks.

"I dunno, yeah..." says Deidara aloofly, "I think that big-chested woman you call Tsunade told me he was on a mission currently and would be back soon to take me and Tobi into interrogation.

Tenten could have swore steam was spewing out of her ears.

"_What did you just call Tsunade-sama?_"

"Uh...big-chested, yeah?" replies Deidara wearily.

Eyebrow twitching, Tenten wanted to just punch Deidara in the face. Sure he could insult her, but when he insulted the great Tsunade, her _idol_, he had crossed the line. She clenched her teeth.

"How _dare _you?" asks Tenten angrily, "How dare you speak about Tsunade like that!"

"All I said was-"

"Ugh! Just don't say anything!"

"Hey, chill out yeah!" yells Deidara, startling Tenten a little, "You're the one who asked the damn question!"

She stops herself from saying the next angry statement. She looks at him. Oh she wanted to punch him, but then again she also wanted to punch herself. She was losing it—and she really couldn't afford to. Tenten sighs. Why was this job so hard?

"I guess...you're right..." says Tenten solemnly.

"Is that supposed to be an apology yeah?"

"No." she snaps, but in a more sober tone, she says, "Well...maybe."

Deidara's eyebrow arches and he says, "You're odd, yeah...but then again...so am I..."

Tenten doesn't say anything and Deidara continues to speak.

"I suppose, yeah," Deidara starts, "I shouldn't have called you stupid...and I shouldn't have annoyed you so much...but I really can't help it..."

"W-what?" is all Tenten can manage to say.

Worn hands grip the prison bars. Deidara smiles brilliantly—and his expression gives her an odd feeling. It was a feeling she has only felt with Neji. His expression made her week in the knees, and her stomach did a somersault. His golden hair seemed glow in that light, and Tenten tries to suppress the butterflies fluttering in her chest.

And her cheeks stain with red as she hears his next words...

"Maybe yeah...I've just got a little crush on you."


End file.
